Girl Talk
by BooBar
Summary: Ron/Hermione/Rose/Scorpius - Hermione's motherly instincts tell her that Rose may be hiding something and as secrets are revealed, Ron learns that his daughter's happiness comes first...Very light T rating just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Ron & Hermione family story set Post Hogwarts! I asked my parents how they got together the other day and I had the idea for this story. As always tips and reviews are welcome! **** Happy reading folks! Oh and let me know if you want a longer story as I'm not sure what to do!**

**I own none of these characters. Everything Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling.**

'_Message received at 19:07 on Saturday…"Hey, I've just dropped Hugo off at Harry and Ginny's so I'll be home in a little bit. Okay, I love you." _Ron's face lit up as he heard these words. He pushed the flashing button on the answerphone machine and went to see if Rose had finished her dinner. Walking into the kitchen, he heard the familiar voice of his daughter chatting on her muggle phone. Rose was now fourteen and had become quite the social butterfly, taking after her dad. He often wondered how she could spend so much catching up with her friends after only being home from Hogwarts a week.

"Rose? Your mum's gonna be home in a bit so might wanna say bye and help me with the dishes." He said in a tone that wasn't as stern as Hermione's but still got the message across.

"Sure, dad" She said turning her head away from the phone, "Hey, look I've gotta go help my dad do some cleaning…Yeah I know but they like me to help around the house… Okay, speak to you soon, bye!" She hung up her phone and placed it into her jeans pocket as she picked up a dish cloth and started drying various items of tableware.

"Hey, Dad?" She asked sweeping her ginger locks behind her ears.

"Yeah? He answered as he put a load of cutlery in the washing up bowl.

"How did you and mom meet? I know you said you knew each other from the start of school but like how did you meet?" As she spoke, she stared out of the window as if she was imagining her parents as their eleven year old selves.

"Funny story actually," he started with a grin "You know Neville? Well I was on the train, in the carriage with your Uncle Harry when this bushy haired girl opened the door and asked if anyone had seen the toad that he had lost. And that girl was…"

"…Mum?" She interrupted.

"You really did get your mum's brains. Yeah it was your mum. She was already dressed in her robes with her tie and everything, she was so short, bless 'er. She sat down after insulting my magical abilities and used a spell on Harry to fix his glasses and then she was gone. We didn't see each other until we got to the great hall to be sorted into our houses." He tipped the water out of the bowl and grabbed another dish cloth to help Rose with the last bits of drying.

"And you were friends straight away?"

"Actually, I couldn't stand her when we first met. She was a bit of a know-it-all and always had her head in a book with a name that I could barely pronounce."

"Surely I wasn't that bad honey?" Hermione asked with a smile as she placed a kiss on Ron's cheek and then Rose's forehead before putting her bag on the back of the chair nearest to her.

"Dad was just telling me how you met. Did you really not like each other? I thought you were best friends?" Rose asked as she put the last few things away.

"Well, not at first, we always seemed to be together though; whether it was in a class or walking from the great hall back to the common room. I guess we weren't officially friends for quite a few weeks after we met. We annoyed each other too much." Hermione chuckled as she reminisced on her early days at Hogwarts.

"But we spent all of our time together after that so we were bound to get used to each other and then over the years we became best friends." Ron said whilst moving behind his wife to massage her shoulders. She looked up at him with love and adoration in her eyes and held onto his left hand with her own.

"What made you ask honey?"

"Don't know, really. I was just thinking about how long you'd been together and then I asked dad in the kitchen." She said as she shut the cupboard and grabbed her phone out of her pocket. She suddenly went very quiet and looked at her phone. Hermione noticed a look in her daughter's eye. One she knew all too well.

"Huh. Fair enough. Oh and thanks for cleaning up you two. The place looks great!" Rose had become oblivious to her parents as she engaged in what seemed to be a very important discussion with someone via text message. She wondered out of the room and almost bumped into the table in the hallway as she made her way up the stairs to her room.

"Oh my goodness, Ron, did you see the look on her face when she got that text?" Hermione got up off the chair she had previously occupied. Ron looked blankly at her and tucked the chair in.

"Erm, should I have seen the look on her face? I don't know how to read her anymore. She seems to be quite mysterious since she's got back from school, attached to her phone like it was oxygen and then asking me about us and how we met and stuff. It's weird."

"You don't think she's hiding something from us do you, or maybe some_one_?" Hermione asked.

"That could explain it. Oh bloody hell 'Mione. She hasn't got a secret boyfriend has she? No she can't have, she's only twelve."

"She's fourteen Ronald, about the same age we were when we started getting all crazy about each other." She said lightly stroking his arm. He took her hands in his own and looked straight into Hermione's eyes.

"Well, what are we going to do? Do we take her phone when she's not looking? Should we ring Harry's and see if the boys have seen her with someone? We could ring Neville and see if he knows anything."

"Calm down detective Weasley." Hermione giggled and brought her hand up to his chin. "I'll go up and talk to her later." She kissed his lips softy and moved her hand back to touch his arm.

"Okay, you're sure that's the best thing to do?" He pulled her closer into a hug, locking his fingers around her back.

"Yeah, I think so." She sent him a warm smile and he responded with his half grin that made her melt every time.

* * *

"Okay mate. Be good and we'll see you about lunch time tomorrow, okay? Alright, good lad, be good…night." Ron hung up the phone and put his arm around Hermione. They were snuggled up on the sofa, in front of the fire; Hermione reading a book and Ron flicking though his monthly quidditch magazine.

"It's so quiet. Maybe Hugo can sleep at Harry and Gin's every night." Ron raised his eyebrows at her. She continued, "Okay, maybe not every night. I'd miss him too much. It's not enough that Rose is away at school but he'll be going back with her in September."

"I know. It'll be weird around here with neither of them around; it'll leave us plenty of time to do other things." Ron said with a wink as he put his magazine down and pulled Hermione onto his lap. She let out a laugh and her book fell on the floor. She wrapped her arms around Ron's neck bringing his head closer to her until their lips were inches apart. Ron needed no more encouragement as he covered his wife's lips with his own and let his arms fall to her bum, giving it a slight pinch. She moaned against him and brushed her hands through his messy ginger hair. It had been a while since they'd done this and they were both enjoying themselves, until…

"Rose" Hermione sighed as she pulled away from Ron.

"Excuse me?" Ron asked with confusion as he caught his breath.

"I needed to talk to Rose, about what happened earlier. She's been in her room for almost two hours." Hermione pulled her hands out of Ron's hair and settled them on his arms.

"It can wait can't it? I was kind of enjoying myself then."

"I know. It's just…what if she's upstairs and she's scared to talk to us about what's going on. I don't want her to think she can't talk to us about stuff. I need to go and talk to her. Fancy giving me some moral support?" She asked as she shifted off him and headed to the door.

"I think this might be one of those mother/daughter moments. I don't wanna make her feel awkward talking about guys and stuff with me in the room."

"You're a good guy, you know that?" Then Ron's eyebrows went so high Hermione thought they would end up in the back of his head.

"Bloody hell, you're not gonna give her _the _talk are you? Surely she's too young for that."

"Haha, no I'm not. I just want to make sure she's okay." Hermione left the lounge and soon found herself outside her daughter's bedroom door. She took a deep breath and knocked three times.

"Rosie? It's mum."

"Oh, you can come in" She heard back in a rather quiet voice. She opened the door and was greeted with the purple walls of her teenage daughter's bedroom. Rose, dressed in her pyjamas, was certainly a creative one with her drawings and various bits of magazine cut-outs on the wall. Hermione sat down on Rose's bed after moving various bits of paper out of the way. A small picture of the family had pride of place on her bedside table, next to it was a picture of Ron and Hermione shortly after the war had finished, hand in hand walking towards the burrow on a cold winter's day.

"Is everything okay, honey?"

"Yep, fine. Why?" Rose sat there with her back against her wall and her knees tucked up to her chin. Hermione noticed the same look in her eye as she had seen only hours before in the kitchen.

"When you got that text earlier, your eyes, they lit up and then almost hid themselves in the space of two seconds."

"Oh, that…I just got a message…from my friend…about a boy." Hermione could agree with Ron about one thing, she certainly did seem to be mysterious.

"Okay." Hermione said, deciding to leave her daughter to it. Rose took after both her mother and father and Hermione knew that if she didn't want to talk about something then she wouldn't. "You know Rose, I might be your mum but I was a teenage girl too you know, and if there's anything you need to talk about then I'm here." Her motherly tone came so naturally in times like these, she adored her children and wanted nothing more than for them to trust her. She gave it a second before getting off the bed and opening the door.

"Wait, Mum?" Rose spoke a bit louder and stretched her legs out. "There is something…but you can't tell dad. He'd flip if he found out, and you can't overreact or get all mushy like you do when you watch that film about Mr Darcy and Lizzie." She had a worried tone that Hermione hadn't heard before.

"Ha, okay. Now what's up mysterious girl?" She turned to see her daughter moving yet more papers and patting the space on her bed next to where she was sitting. Hermione smiled and sat down next to her daughter.

"There's a guy…"

"I knew it!"

"Mum, you said you wouldn't."

"Sorry, go on…" She placed her hand in her daughters.

"It's Scorpius." She paused, almost like she was waiting for her mum to shout at her or give her a disapproving look, instead, Hermione just sat there not saying anything. "I know you and dad don't exactly approve of him but he's a really nice guy if you look passed the fact he's a Malfoy. He's really sweet and well, we've been put next to each other in some of our lessons over the last year and when I've been stuck he's helped me; he's actually quite clever. Not as clever as you but still…" Hermione chuckled to herself and continued to listen to Rose. She knew as soon as Rose started to talk she would let everything out in one long speech. "Anyway, we were passing notes in class and he started to tell me that he liked me and was getting…feelings for me. I didn't know what to do but we've been texting a bit and I wanted to talk to you and dad about it but I was scared. I just don't know what to do." Her eyes stuck to a spot on her duvet cover as she finished.

"Well, I can understand you not talking to your dad about it, but you know you can always talk to me about things like this sweetie. Do you like him?"

"I don't know. I think I could. We've said we're both going to think about it over the Easter break and talk in person when we go back to school. I don't know if I'm ready for something like that. I mean with you and dad it was different. You'd been friends for ages before you got together, right? "

"Well, yes but it was natural and we had feelings for each other for years before either of us made a clear step to confess them."

"So, who made the first move?" Rose turned her head to look at Hermione, who had reached over and picked up the picture frame with that photo of Ron and Herself holding hands.

" Well, it was desperate times; I mean I thought we weren't going to make it through the night and then your dad mentioned going back to save the elves and you know what I'm like when it comes to house elves and something took over me and I kissed him." She didn't take her eye off the picture once as she spoke. "I guess, I'd known for a while how I felt and I didn't want to waste another minute without him knowing the same."

"So you're saying I should…what?" Rose asked

"Get to know him a little more. Don't put any pressure on yourself. With me and your dad, it happened so naturally, friendship turned to something deeper and it took us a while to get to where we are now but it was meant to be. Spend some time getting to know him as a person and then see where it goes." She tapped her daughter's leg and they looked each other in the eyes.

"Okay, thanks mum." Rose looked at Hermione with a warm smile and leant on her shoulder. After a moment or two, Hermione pulled her daughter in close, kissed her on the forehead and smiled, handing her back her picture.

"Okay, I better get back down to your dad and make sure he's not raiding the fridge." She smiled and got up off the bed. "Get some sleep Rose, you'll feel better in the morning." Hermione reached for the door handle and covered her yawning mouth. A thought occurred and she turned to her daughter who was now snuggling into bed.

"Rose?"

"Yes?"

"Why have you got _that_ picture of me and your dad next to your bed? What happened to the one from the Ministry ball we went to last year?"

"You didn't look right. You were all dressed up and you looked great and everything and seeing dad in a suit is rare anyways, but on this one you both look so natural. Your hair is a mess and you and dad are both laughing. You just look so happy."

"Yeah, it is one of my favourites. You just make sure you find someone, one day, who will make you that happy. Goodnight sweetheart. I love you." She flicked off the light and was about to leave when she heard her daughter's voice again.

"Mum? How did you know what that look meant?"

"It's the same look Ginny had when she saw Ron after her and Harry became 'official'."

Rose laughed and her head hit the pillow. "Love you mum." Hermione shut the door behind her and made her way down the stairs.

The clock struck 10 and Ron had moved back into the kitchen to make hot chocolate for himself and Hermione. There weren't many muggle drinks Ron enjoyed but hot chocolate was an exception. He felt a pair of arms around his waist as he poured the boiling water into the mugs.

"So? How is she?" Ron asked.

"She's fine. Teenage girl stuff you know."

"Fair enough." He stirred the drinks and handed one to Hermione. Sitting down at the table he asked her the question to which he feared the answer. "So…were we right? Was she hiding a boy from us?"

"Maybe." Hermione replied, remembering her promise to her daughter.

"Anyone we know? Imagine if it was Malfoy's kid, how mad would that be? I'd kill her."

"Yeah, imagine that." Hermione half smiled behind her mug as she thought about her little girl upstairs asleep with nothing to worry about…until Ron found out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Majority of reviews said they would like something more…so here it is. This chapter is a little bit longer and I kind of let it run until I found the right place to stop. Reviews would be welcomed and there will be at least one more chapter to follow this one.**

I own none of these characters. Everything Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling.

Chapter 2: Homecoming

The second week of the Easter holidays had flown by and as much as Hermione and Ron loved having the children around, they were both happy to have their weekly routine back. Hugo was at a school nearby and Hermione would drop him off on her way to work and Ron would pick him up on his way back home from his Auror duties at the office. With Rose back at school now, no doubt worrying about what to do with Scorpius, Hermione made sure she kept in contact with her more than ever. Although she didn't like to admit it, she didn't have many female friends at Hogwarts and spent most of her time with James and Albus. The image of the three of them often reminded the teachers of Ron, Harry and Hermione in their days at Hogwarts.

Rose and Hermione had grown closer since the talk they shared in her bedroom and had promised to write more over the term keeping their letter confidential so the boys couldn't see them. As much as Hermione disliked keeping secrets from Rom, she knew that he would find out in his own time. Hugo was oblivious to everything going on around him as he was so focussed on getting top grades in his last year of school before starting Hogwarts.

As she sat at her desk at the ministry, Hermione's mind focussed on her daughter and she picked up a quill close to her and began writing.

_Dear Rose,_

_Just checking in to see how you are. How is everything with Scorpius? Don't worry I haven't told your dad; I'll let you do that when you are ready. Remember I'm only an owl away if you need me. I'll speak to you soon. _

_I love you, be safe,_

_Mum x_

_Ps: Auntie Ginny asked if you could keep an eye on your cousins, apparently James has been getting in to a little bit of trouble with some pranks. Speak to you soon._

With a charm to keep it only for Rose's eyes and ears, Hermione sent the letter and continued with her work.

Rose had had a difficult day in classes after focussing all her attention on Scorpius who happened to be with her for the majority of her lessons. As she lay back on her bed after changing out of her robes, she was elated to see a letter from her mum lying on her pillow in the dorm room. She opened it straight away and it brought a smile to her face knowing that her mum had kept the secret of her boy troubles from her father. Using the writing kit that George and Angelina had bought her for her birthday, she quickly got on to her reply.

_Dear Mum,_

_Albus told me about James and his detention with his charms professor and I promise to keep an eye out for any more trouble. Classes are tough this term but I'm working hard and trying to get through them all. Scorpius has been helping me with my potions work; he really has a talent for it! We did talk when we got back and I took your advice and told him we should maybe get to know each other a bit more. FYI, his favourite colour is the same as mine…purple! I know, strange isn't it? Anyway I hope you and dad are okay. I miss you so much. Say hi to Hugo for me and give dad a hug from me too!_

_Love Rosie x_

_Ps. Thanks for not telling Dad about all of this. I promise I will tell him if anything happens, but for now I think it's best to keep it between us._

She put away her writing kit and began her studying for the night, imagining that Hermione would also be doing her work at home on the sofa; and she was.

Hermione was sitting with her legs underneath her on the sofa in the lounge after doing her early finish at the ministry and took advantage of a quiet house to get a bit of extra work in. The clock struck 4pm and she heard the familiar voices of her husband and son coming through the door.

"Hello? 'Mione we're back!" Ron shouted as he helped Hugo with his bag and jacket in the hallway. She was already up off the sofa, leaving her work next to the empty space she had just occupied and greeted them as Ron took off his boots.

"There are my two favourite guys. How's your day been Hun?" She asked as she pulled her son in for a hug.

"It was good, I've got to go and revise some of my notes though, I've got a test in two weeks and I don't want Hogwarts to think I'm not good enough."

"Oh sweetie," She laughed as she ruffled his hair, "Your letter is gonna be here any day now, and there's no doubt that you're good enough. If your dad got in then you've got nothing to worry about." She smiled up at Ron and he stuck his tongue out at her, slipping off his jacket and hanging it up. She loved how childish he could still be even though he was fully grown with two children.

"Okay, Mum. I'm still going to study. I'll be back down in an hour." With confidence in every step up the stairs, their youngest son disappeared into his room.

"He's definitely your son when it comes to schoolwork." Ron smiled as he kissed his wife on the lips and pulled her close to him.

"Yeah but he's got all your handsome looks. He is going to be a real catch when he's older." She held his hand and led him into the living room.

"Yeah, I take it you were doing work when we got back then. How much have you got on at the moment?" Ron asked as Hermione picked up all of her files and put them on the coffee table in the middle of the room, slouching back onto the sofa.

"Too much; it's alright though, I've got a few people at the office helping me out with it so it should be finished by next week. Hearing from Rose made me smile today though."

Ron sat down next to her wrapping his arm around her so she could rest her head on him. "Oh right, how's she doing?"

"She's fine, finding her classes a bit tough but she's got friends helping her out so we're very much in the same position." She chuckled and wrapped her arms around him. "She said to give you a hug so here you go."

"Ha, thanks baby." He kissed the top of her head.

After discussing Ron's day and Hugo going to Hogwarts, the topic of conversation whilst eating dinner was Rose's mystery 'friend' as Ron had named them. Hermione did her best to remain calm and not give anything away, especially since Hugo was there and listening in on every word as he ate his pasta. They cleaned up and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief after being able to keep her secret.

Later on, after seeing Hugo off to sleep, the couple found themselves in bed unusually early after a long day. They lay there in their pyjamas as Ron finished ready his Quidditch magazine he turned over to look at Hermione who was finishing her latest book, her hair tied in a messy bun that she had become so fond of whilst reading.

"You look so beautiful." Ron said turning to face his wife.

"Okay, what do you want? I'm too tired to do _that_."

"What makes you think I want something? Am I not allowed to compliment my wife?"

"Not when you've got that look in your eyes. Now what's going on?" She was forced to put her book down after reading the same sentence six times and turned so she was face to face with Ron.

"It's Rose. I know you know something. So spill it."

"Ron, I made her a promise not to say anything. I'm not going to back out of it. She won't trust me with anything again. She'll talk when she wants to."

"Pleeeeaaassseeee?" He said as looked up at her the way a puppy would.

"No Ron. I can't."

"Okay, I won't mention it again."

"Until tomorrow." Hermione smiled to herself and then kissed Ron goodnight, turning off the lamp on her bedside table. "Goodnight Ronald." She lay down with her back to him waiting for his arms to wrap around her as they had done for many years now. Even after all the years they had been together, she still got tingles when his hands made contact with her skin.

"Goodnight, beautiful." He said as he pulled her closer to his bare chest.

The weeks passed and with her last letter sent to her parents, Rose gathered up her belongings ready to board the Hogwarts Express to take her back to her parents for the summer. They would meet her along with Hugo, Harry, Ginny and Lily on platform 9 ¾.

Sure enough, they arrived at the same time as Harry and Ginny and followed the couple through the train station and then through the wall between platforms 9 and 10, landing on the platform they had become so used to visiting.

James and Albus were the first ones to be seen with their luggage walking through the army of students who were running to their parents and siblings. Lily ran straight to Albus; being only a few years apart she had spent the most time with Albus at home when James had first gone to Hogwarts and she missed him dearly. Ginny pulled James towards her as Harry gathered their luggage. Ron was pleased to see his nephews and his sister and Harry but he wondered what was keeping Rose. Hermione, however, had seen her daughter a few minutes ago chatting to a blonde haired boy, who was slightly taller than her at the other end of the platform. She knew she had to keep Ron distracted and pointed out that Neville was about 100 yards in front of him, coming home from Hogwarts to visit his now very elderly grandmother. Telling him she would wait for Rose, she touched his arm lightly and watched him go with Hugo to greet their old friend, with Harry, Ginny and their children following close behind.

She made her move through the crowds of parents and students until she was only a few yards away from her daughter.

"So, Scorpius, are we going to write this summer?" Rose asked with a shy tone.

"Sure, I'd love to, if it's okay with your parents? I know they have a history with my dad and I don't want your mum and dad to…"

"Rose!" Hermione shouted in an excited tone as she saw that Ron was now returning to the spot they had been in only minutes ago.

"Oh, hi Mum." She looked embarrassed to be caught talking to Scorpius on the platform like this but before she could say anything else, she was pleasantly surprised to see that her friend had his hand out in front of him.

"Mrs Weasley? Scorpius Malfoy," He said with a smile on his face. "I'm pleased to meet you. Rose talks about you and Mr Weasley all the time." Hermione could hand it to the kid; he obviously was a charmer, just like Draco had been in his early teenage years before everything kicked off. 'Polite and confident' she thought as she ticked them off an imaginary list she had in her head. She shook his hand and placed her other on her daughters shoulder.

"Where are dad and Hugo?" Rose asked looking around her.

"They've just gone to speak to Neville." Then moving down to whisper in her ear she spoke quieter saying "I thought it would be easier with just me for now." She received a warm and thankful smile from her daughter as she was told to say her goodbye's and bring her luggage over to where she would be waiting for her.

"It was nice to meet you Scorpius. I hope your parents are well."

"Yes, thank you. They should be here any moment now."

"Ah yes, well I better go and find the boys. Take care Scorpius."

She gave him one last smile and nodded to Rose.

"Well I better get going. Don't think it would be a good idea for my dad to see me talking to you until I've spoken to him."

"That's fair enough Rose. So, I guess we are taking things slow?" He said as he ran his fingers through his bleach blond hair.

"Yeah, maybe once I've spoken to my dad, you can come over for dinner?"

"That'd be great. I'll text you tomorrow, I'll most likely fall asleep when I get home so don't want to leave you waiting for any replies." He gave her the same smile he had greeted Hermione with and after an awkward hug and a shout from his parents, the couple parted ways, turning to smile once more at each other.

"Harry and Gin have just left; she said she would call us later." Ron said as he found his wife amongst all the mothers on the platform, "There she is! Where've you been?" Ron asked as he hugged his daughter close to him, bringing her luggage behind him.

"I was just saying goodbye to a friend and waiting with them until their parents got here." She said as she ruffled her little brother's hair.

"Ah, you're so caring aren't you? Just like your Mum. Right then let's get home ay?" Hermione held onto Hugo and Rose as Ron took control of the luggage and they were home within half an hour.

Hugo was playing in the garden with Ron as it was a beautiful day in England and Hermione took the opportunity to talk to Rose about her 'friend', she also couldn't resist helping her daughter sort things out in her room.

She knocked Rose's half open bedroom door a couple of times before opening it further.

"Hello? How is the unpacking going darling?"

"Oh, I've nearly finished. I have just got to put my trunk away and those shoes and I'll be done." She smiled as she moved the last of her belongings off her bed, putting her trunk underneath it and then taking a seat on her bed. "Are you okay mum?"

"Yes, sweetie, I'm fine. I just wanted to make sure you're okay. I used to come home and cry sometimes after leaving Ron and Harry on the platform. I know it must be hard for you sometimes when you get back and it's just us." She gestured towards Rose's desk chair and after a nod of approval from her daughter; she sat down placing her arms on the rest either side of her. "So, how are things with Scorpius? Have you decided what to do?"

"I really like him Mum, and the last few weeks have been so good! I'm so glad I took your advice and got to know him. We have so much in common and he's so sweet and kind, but he can be brave and protective too." She thought about the traits she had found so attractive in Ron in their first few years and couldn't help but smile knowing they were the same things that her daughter was drawn to. "He's one of my best friends now and…well I guess we are taking things slowly. Is that okay mum? I know how you feel about him."

"Hey", she said leaning forwards, "He won't be judged on his father's actions from nearly twenty years ago, not by me anyway. He was very polite at the train station and I saw the way he looked at you after you left. He respects you and that's the best thing I could hope for. You don't have to worry about me Rose. Now, your dad might have something to say about it but I think you should be the one to talk to him about it. I'm taking Hugo shopping now for some new shoes so you will have plenty of time to talk it over with him."

"Hermione?! Rose?! Where are you?" Ron shouted from the bottom of the stairs. Hermione patted her daughter's knee and followed the sound of her husband's voice out of the room.

"We're up here darling. Can you get Hugo's shoes on so we can go straight out?"

"Yeah, sure." He turned round to see his son was already getting his shoes and jacket on. "Good lad, make sure you don't let your mum go near the female shoes though, she's got enough shoes to last her a lifetime."

"Alright, dad. Are you cooking tonight?" He said as he saw the ingredients to Ron's signature dish on the kitchen counter.

"Yeah mate, it'll be ready by the time you get back."

Upstairs, Hermione was giving Rose a few last words of advice before leaving.

"Right just remember your dad loves you and he wants you to be happy, but he is very protective so just make sure you let him know that you feel safe with Scorpius and he's a good friend to you. We won't be too long and if he starts shouting then let him get it out of his system and then wait an hour. It normally takes him that long to realise that he was wrong and he will come and apologise." She smiled and kissed Rose on the forehead. "Won't be long and if I was you I would get it over and done with sooner rather than later."

She kissed Ron on the cheek and grabbed her handbag. "You ready then Hun?" She ushered her son out of the door shouting a final 'bye' to Rose and then left.

The house was quiet for a few minutes before Rose came down the steps and into the kitchen, sitting down at the table watching Ron as he cut and chopped the vegetable they would later be eating. She breathed in and put her hands on the table intertwining her fingers.

"Dad?"

"Yeah?"

"I kinda need to talk to you about something."

"Okay. Fire away." He said turning his head slightly in her direction.

"You might want to put the knife down." She said. He took a hint and left the food as it was and sat on the chair opposite her.

"What's going on Rosie? It's not like you to be like this."

Remembering her mother's advice, she chose an opening line she knew would grab his attention.

"You love me right dad?"

"Of course I do. Now what's going on? Are you hurt? Are you being bullied?"

"No, no, nothing like that. It's kind of the opposite."

"You're bullying other people?" He was not going to make this easy was he? The only way she knew how to get something like this out was to just say it.

"I'm kind of dating someone and I wanted to tell you before but I was scared how you would react but Mum told me I should just tell you." She sat and waited for a response. Unlike her mother, Ron was straight to the point and firing out questions one after the other.

"Who? Since when? What's his name? Is he from school?"

"Woah dad, you are going too fast. He is from school; we started talking at the start of the year when we were seated next to each other in most of our classes. I don't really know why because his last name is M and mine is W." Rose knew she just had to keep going and ignore whatever facial expressions Ron was displaying. "He's a really good guy dad and I spoke to mum about it at Easter but we were just friends then and she promised she would keep it a secret so don't be mad at her because it wasn't her fault, it just sort of happened, and I've got to know him and he's one of my best friends now and I know that you will like him when you get to know him and mum likes him so I just wanted to tell you about it."

She let out a deep breath and waited.

"M?" Ron finally spoke after what seemed like an eternity. "He's not in Gryffindor is he Rose?" He said with small sigh. She simply shook her head in reply. "M as in Malfoy?" Again, all she could do was nod. "I don't like this Rose. You know how I feel about the Malfoy's. They have a long history of hurting people and I won't have you in the firing line of...what's his name again…Corpus?" His voice was getting louder and his face brighter.

"_Scorpius_." Rose corrected quietly.

"Right well whatever his name is, I won't have it. There are plenty more boys at Hogwarts that would be better suited to you. Good Gryffindor boys. Even Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw but I will not have you dating a Slytherin. No chance." He shouted his voice firm and full of passion.

"But dad –"

"No Rose. I don't want to hear anything else about this. I won't allow it." Rose shifted from her chair quickly and ran up the stairs slamming her door behind her as Ron went back to chopping the vegetables, trying to wrap his head around everything. After about an hour, Hermione and Hugo entered the house with a couple of bags in each of their hands.

"Okay Hugo, why don't you go and put away those and I'll be up in a minute."

"Alright, thanks for the shoes mum. You're the best." She kissed him on the forehead and sent him upstairs getting him out of the way before she spoke to Ron. She had felt the tension as soon as she opened the front door and could cut it with the knife that Ron had just put down.

She crept into the kitchen and placed the remaining bags of shopping next to the dining table.

"I take it she spoke to you then?" She asked as Ron turned round, acknowledging her presence.

"You knew? At Easter when you spoke to her about it; our little girl and that Slytherin boy?"

"That 'Slytherin boy' has a name Ronald and yes I knew. You wonder why she wouldn't tell you when you react like this. He's a good kid Ron, he was so polite at the train station and they really are fond of each other."

"Fond of each other? _Fond of each other!"_

"Yes Ronald, and if you looked past the fact that Scorpius' father is Draco then you might notice that this is Rose's first boyfriend. She was terrified about talking to you because she thought you would react like – well, how you've reacted. She came down to tell you about it because she wanted your approval before she said anything to him about moving forward." She could read Ron like a book and she knew that the sight of his shoulders going up and then back down meant that he had realised what had happened, that his daughter had spoken to him about a boy and instead of trying to understand and respect her maturity, he had shouted her out of the room and up the stairs.

"I've gone and done it this time haven't I?" He balanced himself on his elbows as he leant on the work surface of the kitchen. Hermione, as gentle as always, placed her hand on his shoulder and rubbed it slightly.

"It doesn't matter what happened between us and Draco at Hogwarts, it was almost twenty years ago. It's her life to live and we can't decide who she falls in love with."

"They're in love?" He lifted himself up and turned so he was now facing his wife.

"No, but one day they could be and Rose needs to know that we are going to be there for her, regardless of who it is. You never know, you might actually like the kid." She smiled up at him and stroked his arm. "Go and apologise."

"I can't; I'm no good at this stuff. Can you go up first and make sure she's okay. I promise I will come up in a bit. I just need to plan what I'm going to say." He spoke nervously, like he was preparing a speech for his bosses at work.

"Just tell her you're sorry and are only being protective. Face it, even if it was a Gryffindor you still wouldn't be happy she was dating. The fact that it's Scorpius just makes it easier for you to be wound up." He knew she had a point but still, he pleaded with her until she agreed to break the ice and go and talk to her daughter before. He finished off the cooking and plated up the meals, placing them in the oven to keep them warm. Ron wiped down the counters as he mumbled to himself different words of comfort, no doubt to say to Rose.

Hermione felt like she had won a battle that was only just beginning. Sure, it would take Ron a lot of time to get used to the idea that his little girl had a boyfriend, Hermione was still processing it as well, but she knew that Rose needed her to be the one, as always, acting rationally.

She knocked on Rose's door and was shocked at the harsh tone that replied.

"Go away Dad! I don't want to talk to you!" Hermione pushed the door slightly and quietly entering the room and leaving the door open just enough so that Ron could see he wasn't interrupting.

"It's me sweetie." Hermione pulled the desk chair round next to her daughter's bedside.

"I take it that you've heard what happened." Rose said as she hugged her pillow.

"Well, not exactly. I know your Dad is having a bit of a freak out but we knew that was going to happen darling."

"He was shouting at me mom, like _really _shouting at me, like he did that one time when I was ten minutes late home. I didn't know what to do. He just lost it and then I ran up here and everything went quiet and the next thing I heard you and Hugo were home. He hates me mom." She held the pillow closer to her chest as a few tears fell from her eyes onto the cotton pillow cases. It broke Hermione's heart to see her daughter crying. She extended her hand out to her and pulled a few pieces of stray hair out of Rose's eyes.

"Rosie, listen to me." She did as she was told and soon had eye contact with her mother. "Your Dad loves you more than anything in the world, do you understand? He's just scared. You're our baby girl and even when you are married with children of your own, you will still be his baby. He's trying to protect you; he's just got an odd way of showing it." Rose chuckled and nodded. Sensing her daughter still wasn't convinced Hermione continued.

"You know Rose, not long after your dad and I got engaged, I went out for a night with your aunt Ginny and when we weren't back by half 10, he rang up all of his brothers and his parents asking if they'd seen us. Then he rang Neville and Seamus and Luna and then when we walked through the door at 11, he went mad at us. We were in a taxi the whole time, Ginny's request, and got stuck in late night traffic. It's because he loves us so much that he gets worked up."

"I know. I just can't help thinking that it's because it's Scorpius that he's going mad. He's gonna kill him if he ever sees him with me."

Hermione giggled and held her daughter's hand. "Honey, he would kill any guy that laid a hand on you. Your granddad was the same, but once he saw how much respect your dad had for me and how he couldn't take his eyes off me, how happy he made me, he had no choice but to accept it." Rose nodded and smiled, moving the pillow away from her and back behind her head. "Now, your dad is gonna come in and grovel in a bit so go easy on him, you know what men are like with pride."

"Yeah, a few weeks ago Scorpius was stuck on some divination work and when I offered to help he was all 'no, it's okay, I can do it.'" The two laughed together.

Ron made his way up the stairs, passing Hugo's room and giving him a smile as he was shown his son's new pairs of shoes and a few other items of clothing Hermione had bought him. He was growing so fast that trips to get new clothes were becoming more frequent now; they only hoped that his uniform would last him a full year at Hogwarts. He reached his destination, opposite the bedroom he shared with Hermione was Rose's room. He knocked lightly at the door.

"That's my cue to go, I love you okay? Oh and if you want to make him try harder, just don't answer him at first, it'll drive him mad." Hermione whispered and then giggled. She kissed the top of her daughter's head and brushed past Ron giving him a subtle nod. She stroked his arms softly, giving him the moral support he needed and stood outside her daughter's room waiting for the conversation to start.

"So, I owe you an apology. I shouldn't have shouted at you like that." Ron spoke so softly and occupied the chair that was still beside the bed. Rose, taking her mother's advice and being a little cheeky, didn't answer and decided she would make him work for it.

"I'm just…I'm just protective over you I guess. I don't want anyone mistreating you, and with his family history and all…"

"But dad, you know nothing about him." She interrupted. "He's not the same as Mr Malfoy was when he was our age. Scorp is sweet and kind and clever and he looks after me. He respects me, dad."

Ron simply leant forward placing his elbows on his knees and rubbing his hands together. Hermione, who was still listening outside the door was smiling; she knew Ron was about to give in.

"So you really like him then?" Rose nodded and smiled slightly. "Maybe if…" Hermione held her breath, "Maybe if we invited him over for dinner so we could meet him properly. We can even get take-away. What do you think?" Hermione couldn't bear it anymore, she peeped around the door and watched as her daughter climbed off the bed and leapt onto Ron.

"Thanks Dad; that would be perfect." She smiled and he wrapped his arms around her, kissing her forehead. He got up and left Rose with a smile on her face.

"Why don't you ask him round this Friday?"

"We're at your parents this Friday darling!" Hermione called.

"Okay, how about Saturday night. We can rent a movie and get a Chinese." Rose looked like she was about to cry but this time it was out of pure relief and joy.

"Okay. I'll call him now. Thanks dad, you're the best!" Ron shut the door behind him and Hermione found her arms resting on his shoulders, and then kissing his lips lightly.

"See, it wasn't that bad, was it?" He smiled down at her and kissed her back.

"What have I just done?" She looked through the small gap to see into her daughter's room. She was smiling on the phone and lying back looking a lot more relaxed.

"You've made your daughter the happiest girl in the world." She kissed him again and patted his upper arms, raising an eyebrow as she felt his muscles.

"Mom? Dad? When are we having dinner, I'm starving." Hugo asked from his doorway.

They smiled and Ron chuckled, realising that the only thing that could make him forget about his food is his children. He called to Rose to come down when she was done. Hermione placed her hand on Hugo's shoulder and followed ushered her boys downstairs.

Half an hour later, the Weasley family were laughing and joking around the dining table and all tense atmosphere from earlier had vanished and was replaced with the sound of joy and the smell of food.


End file.
